During the Super Bowl XLIII half-time, ABC airs Wipeout Bowl I, the half-time show! In this special episode, which is also part of the season opener, it will be cheerleaders vs couch potatoes! Joining hosts John Henson and John Anderson, is co-host Jill Wagner and special guest, NFL star Michael Irvin!

Wipeout Bowl I: Half-time Show!

The first cheerleader has a rough time with the course, but finishes with a time of 3:23. Next up is the first couch potato, who amazes guest host Michael Irvin by rolling in the mud! Completely covered in the brown ooze, he heads for the Big Balls, where he slides off the second one in short order!

The new course is proving difficult for both cheerleaders and couch potatoes alike. The Wipeout quarterbacks and motivators stand alongside the course, as does the marching band! Ballsy, the Wipeout mascot tries to prove something at the Big Balls, but ends up floating in the lake!

One of the couch potatoes lands in the water and doesn’t have the stamina to get back out, in spite of hollered encouragement from the Wipeout quarterbacks, and a drum roll from the band. He’s down for the count! Hot on his heels is a cheerleader who displays a potty mouth while tackling the Big Balls! She doesn’t fare well at the part of the course where quarterbacks throw footballs at her either – she winds up in the water again! That is just a ‘taste’ of Wipeout Bowl I, which will continue after the end of Super Bowl XLIII!

Wipeout Bowl I: After Super Bowl XLIII!

As Wipeout Bowl I continues after Super Bowl XLIII, the first cheerleader up, Shauni, says she needs to win the money to pay for her wedding! She hits the sofa at the end of the course with a time just over 3 minutes!

Couch potatoes are represented next by a fellow who is thirty years old and unemployed! Guest host Michael Irvin speaks to another couch potato – Putt Egg – who is the very first one to make it across one particularly difficult aspect of the course!

Monica is the next cheerleader to run the Wipeout course. She winds up in the mud! Michael is the next couch potato, and he promises to ‘destroy’ the course! Unfortunately, he literally breaks one of the obstacles! Jill Wagner and Michael Irvin grimace as they watch it happen!

Hosts John Henson and John Anderson explain that at the end of the day, 6 cheerleaders and 6 couch potatoes will advance to the next round. They argue over who is ahead so far. The couch potatoes next candidate gets on the course. Super Stu, covered in mud, slowly approaches the Big Balls, but not fast enough for the Wipeout motivator waiting at the top of the ramp – Stu gets moved along – into the water! Super Stu finally hits the sofa with a time of 4:45.

The cheerleader that is up next tells co-host Jill Wagner that with the prize money, she’d buy a new cell phone! She is followed by a proud new father, who also happens to be a couch potato. He clocks a time of 4:12. Finally, the last qualifier is Chelsea the cheerleader, who impresses with a final time of 2:52!

As football’s Keyshawn Johnson joins the Wipeout hosts in the announcing booth, the 12 finalists will face Wipeout’s King of the Mountain, which replaces the Sweeper. Contestants have to maneuver from their outer pedestal to the inside platform while avoiding a huge revolving rubberized beam! By the end of the event, 3 cheerleaders and 3 couch potatoes make it onto the mountain and into the final round of the Wipeout Bowl!

Soon, John and John are thrilled to receive a visit by football’s Reggie Bush! Ali, Monica and Shawnee, the finalists from the cheerleading side of things, prepare to take on the remaining 3 couch potatoes in the spinning portion of Wipeout! Only 4 contestants can go on to the Wipeout Zone!

The six contestants start out on the spinning goal post event, and wind up, well, getting wound up on the spinning wheel! Next is the keg run, which Jill Wagner points out should be easy for the couch potatoes – it’s jumping on kegs! In round three, there is cheerleader Shawnee left to go, along with three couch potatoes. Shawnee drops out after banging her face on the Teeter-Totter. Ultimately, Super Stu, Robert ‘Putt-Egg’, Ali, and Monica are the hard-working foursome that will go on to the Wipeout Zone!

Wipeout Zone!

The all-new Wipeout Zone begins with the Aqua Launch and ends with the Tackle-Dummy Turnstiles, which must be navigated to get on the end platform! Ali the cheerleader from Washington State is up first. Coming off the Aqua Launch, she is making good time, but then she is washed back by the Sports Drink Tidal Wave! When she makes it to the Sweeper pedestals, she is knocked down by the giant pom-poms! She ricochets into the water from the Tackle-Dummy Turnstiles, but gets back on. She finishes with a time of 8:13, and a return to the potty mouth!

Putt-Egg, Robert Davis, is up next. He comes off the Launch well, but struggles with Raging Rapids and Sports Drink Tidal Wave. Coming onto the Sweeper he is about a minute off Ali’s pace. Soon, he’s in for a swim, courtesy of the pom-poms. He rushes to beat her time, and gets close, but in the end it’s not enough.

Cheerleader Monica is the next to try the Wipeout Zone. Only one contestant can claim the $50 000 prize money! She makes great time – best time of the day going onto Raging Rapids, but is repelled by the Sports Drink Tidal Wave. She gives it a second try, still making good time. Monica tries the Sweeper, and makes it through! The Tackle-Dummy Turnstiles are her last obstacle – and it doesn’t prove too difficult for her – she soundly beats Ali’s time, coming in at just over 4 minutes!

Super Stu is the last Wipeout Zone contestant in the first ever Wipeout Bowl! He comes down the Aqua Launch and heads to the Raging Rapids, where he takes a punishing hit by the Tidal Wave! Stu makes his way back up and heads to the Sweeper – he’s only 15 seconds off Monica’s pace. Unfortunately, Stu gets booted off the pedestals by the pom-poms. He makes it to the Turnstiles on his second attempt, and has thirty seconds to make it through the last obstacle to the pedestal. At the last minute, Super Stu takes a dive, which makes Monica the cheerleader the winner of the first Wipeout Bowl, and the first female Wipeout champion!